Richard Nagy - Football Coach - Lehigh University Athletics

Richard Nagy

Title:
Vandergrift Family Head Football Coach
Email:
emb2@lehigh.edu
Phone:
610-758-4290

Richard Nagy was elevated to the Vandergrift Family Head Football Coach at Lehigh in March 2026. The 31st head coach in Lehigh football history, Nagy spent the last three years as Lehigh’s Defensive Coordinator, where he led one of the top defensive units in the FCS, and was part of a coaching staff that was recognized as the Dick Biddle Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year in 2025, following the Mountain Hawks’ 12-0 regular season.

For the last three seasons, Nagy served as Lehigh’s Defensive Coordinator, while coaching the rover position. A dominant defense was a hallmark for the 2025 Mountain Hawks. Lehigh led the Patriot League and ranked in the top five nationally in five major defensive categories. The Mountain Hawks boasted the top rush defense in the FCS, allowing just 70.1 yards per game, and also led the FCS in Red Zone defense (0.645). Lehigh also ranked second nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 13.9 points per game and ranked fourth in both total yards allowed per game (278) and team sacks per game (3.31).

Six members of Lehigh’s defense earned All-Patriot League recognition in 2025, including linebacker Tyler Ochojski, who was named Patriot League and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, and earned four different All-America honors. Four members of Lehigh’s defense earned some level of All-America recognition over the last two seasons.

In Lehigh’s 2024 Patriot League championship season, the Mountain Hawks led the Patriot League and ranked in the top 20 nationally in total defense, pass defense and sacks. Lehigh also allowed a league-low 21.6 points per game. Defensive lineman Matt Spatny was recognized as Lehigh’s first All-American in five years. Linebacker Mike DeNucci was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS.

Nagy’s rover group was led by the emergence of Jackson Dowd, who ranked fourth on the team with 64 tackles and added five pass breakups.

In his first season, three of Nagy’s defensive players earned All-Patriot League honors: lineman Dean Colton, DeNucci and safety Nick Peltekian. The Mountain Hawks ranked second in the Patriot League with 21 sacks.

A coaching veteran with nearly 40 years of experience at the Division I and Division III levels, Nagy came to Lehigh following three seasons as the head coach at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.

In his three seasons at Allegheny, Nagy mentored 13 all-conference student-athletes. He came to Allegheny following six seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Old Dominion. At ODU, Nagy coached a first-team All-Conference USA defender in each of his final three seasons, including Oshane Ximines, who twice set the Old Dominion single season sack record before eventually being drafted by the New York Giants. Nagy was also on staff for ODU’s win at the 2016 Bahamas Bowl.

Nagy joined ODU after three seasons at Western Michigan where he worked with the safeties and spent the 2012 season as defensive coordinator.

In 2010, Nagy moved up to the FBS ranks following stints at Murray State and then Hofstra.

Nagy spent five seasons at the University of Maine, where he served as defensive coordinator while working with the linebackers and the secondary. He was a part of two Black Bear teams that won conference titles and made the Division I-AA quarterfinals.

As a student-athlete, Nagy was a standout running back at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and was Trinity football’s most valuable player in 1986. He began his coaching career as a part-time secondary coach at his alma mater before moving on to Allegheny, where he worked as a graduate assistant coaching the inside linebackers. From Allegheny, Nagy went on to Union College and then a two-year stint at Maine.

Nagy returned to Allegheny in 1992 and spent five seasons as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, adding the title of associate head coach in his final season. He was on staff for three NCAC championship teams at Allegheny before moving on to a one-year stint as the special teams coordinator and secondary coach at South Dakota and a three-year stint in the Patriot League at Fordham before returning to Maine in 2001.

A Connecticut native, Nagy graduated from Trinity College in 1987 with a degree in political science. Nagy and his wife, Erika, are the parents of two daughters, Jordan and Erin.